A Day in the Life of a Moody Earthbender
by Soul Stealer 2K4
Summary: When Toph wakes up on the wrong side of her earth tent, Sokka tries to cheer her up without her knowing. Story much better than summary indicates. T rating to be safe. Tokka two-shot. Set during Western Air Temple.
1. Chapter 1

"Morning Toph!" Katara said, tapping noisily on the earthbender's rock tent.

Toph growled under her breath. _Oh get lost! _She thought. Gathering the will to get up, she rubbed her head; nursing a headache that had snuck up on her. She hated mornings, especially early mornings like these, when the Sugar Queen would wake her with that annoyingly happy tone of voice that went right through her ears. She stretched out her arms and legs, and rolled her neck until she heard a small cracking sound. Stretching usually drove away the annoying stiffness of a deep sleep that had been so rudely disturbed, but this time her limbs still felt heavy and every movement took a lot of effort. She moodily got dressed, trying to ignore the numb feeling in her body.

_I don't see the point in getting up this early… _She thought, bending earth around her fingertips into claws as a makeshift comb, and brushing her hair into a bun. Only a few moments passed before she instinctively gave up. The earth fell from her fingers and her raven hair flowed freely past her shoulders Today was one of those days where she really couldn't be bothered. It's not like anyone would notice if she left her hair down for once anyway.

"Meh…" she groaned.

She touched the underside of her feet. They were moderately healed from the burn that Zuko had accidentally inflicted on her, although she could feel some scarring in the arch of her left foot. She had started to use them to see as she used to, but even so, everything was still quite foggy and it bugged her to no end.

Earthbending was all she had, and even though she still had use of her hands, it just wasn't the same without her feet. While there was no doubt that Zuko had made a good effort to atone for his actions, she still felt angry at how helpless the scorch marks left her. She sighed and thumped on the floor with her fists. The earthen walls around her fell back into the ground.

It couldn't have been more than an hour since daybreak; the scent of sunrise was soft but sweet, like blueberries, and lingered for some time afterwards. It was something she almost never smelt until she ran away from home with Aang and the others – something she hoped she wouldn't experience too often – so much for that idea.

All the usual noises that she heard in the mornings somehow seemed far louder than normal, and with her hearing being so acute, it meant that everything she heard was magnified ten fold. She rubbed her forehead again. As she stood up, she found herself being plucked from her standing position and cradled in the toned arms of someone who distinctly smelt of meat.

"Sokka! I can walk you know! I don't need to be carried everywhere!"

"But your feet…"

"My feet are okay enough for me to walk on,"

Sokka grabbed her right ankle and looked at the ball of her foot. Toph instinctively – and unsuccessfully – kicked at him for yanking her leg without permission. She thrashed and squirmed and tried to break free, but quickly stopped when she realised how easily he dodged any attempt to clout him, and that she wasn't getting anywhere by struggling.

"No, I have to disagree," He said. "You shouldn't be walking for another few days, a week at least."

"Since when do you know anything about burn wounds?"

"You want a second opinion? Let's go ask Katara…"

"Hmph! Fine," Toph pouted. The pounding in her head was slowly going away, talking to Katara – in all her 'oh what a beautiful morning' sickly sweet goody-goodyness – would probably make it worse. She growled again.

"You look different…" Sokka announced as he carried her to the fountain and set her down gently.

"I wouldn't know; it's not like I can see what I look like normally." She snapped.

"Hey Toph," Haru said, approaching cheerfully. "Sleep well?"

In no mood to give a proper answer, she simply snorted at him.

Sokka looked at her carefully, sat there with her hands curled into angry fists, and tried to figure out why she looked different. She wasn't wearing anything unusual – no make-up or jewellery, bar the piece of 'space earth' he'd given her that she'd forged into an arm-bracelet. He felt kind of flattered that she'd worn it every day since. It was strange, to be suddenly overcome with an urge just to look at her, he could've easily sat and observed her for hours on end. Bearing in mind her foul mood, however, he decided on a different course of action.

"Well… How about I go get some breakfast for you…" Without waiting for an answer, or an argument that she could get her own breakfast, he walked away.

"I'll come with." Haru offered, leaving Toph all alone with her bad mood.

Now she was feeling even angrier. Damn Zuko for burning her feet, even if it was an accident. Damn Katara for waking her so early. And damn Sokka for making her feel useless enough that she needed to be carted around like a big stuffed animal. Not that she enjoyed being foul-tempered, she decided that today it would be best if she just stayed angry, get all the rage out and hopefully be in a better frame of mind tomorrow.

Sokka, meanwhile, had no idea why Toph was being so moody. Maybe it was too early for her to be awake, maybe he should talk to his sister about not waking her up unless it was really necessary, or maybe it was him. He knew he was being a touch overprotective, and he knew that – despite being blind – Toph was a strong, fiery and independent girl who didn't need protecting. But in the past, he admitted to himself of the occasional sleepless night, when all he thought of was what would happen if something damaged her feet; her way of seeing without the use of her eyes. He didn't like Toph's moody days, no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't stand the thought of her being so angry, when he knew how happy she could be.

"Here you go Sokka," Katara interrupted his train of thought by handing him two bowls of hot pudding rice.

"Dessert for breakfast?" He asked.

"Toph likes it, and who knows, it may sweeten her up a bit," She smiled.

Sokka smiled back at her. He had a much better idea about how to improve Toph's mood.

--

He returned to the edge of the fountain where he had placed Toph, only to find that she'd fallen asleep. At least, it looked like she was asleep; her eyes were closed and she was very still. She was rather cute lying there, her body curving with the stone rim and her toes just skimming the surface of the water. He put the two bowls down and moved closer to shake her shoulder.

"I know you're there," She said, keeping her eyes closed.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"Well I'm not."

"Uh… here," He mumbled as he handed her a bowl of pudding. He hastened to add that she should be careful because the food was hot, but knowing that she'd either growl menacingly or earthbend him into the stratosphere, chose to keep his mouth shut.

"It's dessert," Toph remarked as she tasted a spoonful. "Your sister get confused or what?"

"No, I think she just wanted to be different and have something sweet…" He watched her eat her meal quite quickly, either she really liked it or she just wanted to sling it down her throat and be done with it.

"It tastes kind of strange," She licked her lips.

"Maybe she made it extra sweet," He smirked, knowing that she couldn't see the cheeky grin he wore.

"Hmm…"

They finished eating in silence, but Toph couldn't help thinking that Sokka was up to something. She sat completely still for minute, trying to read his vibrations. His heart was beating a little faster than usual – although it usually did when he ate things he liked – and his left leg was twitching slightly. She didn't like it; it was as if he was scheming, not so much against her, but perhaps forging a plan that had something to do with her. Sokka came across as such a meat-brained idiot most of the time but there was clearly more to him than that.

"We're gonna go watch Aang's firebending lesson soon," He mentioned. "You wanna come with?"

She didn't answer straight away. She sat quietly and felt his vibrations; his heart was getting faster now. Something was up and she didn't like it, not one bit.

"No, I've got better things to do," She growled.

If only she knew that by saying no, she'd played right into Sokka's hands.

"You sure?" He questioned, so as not to draw suspicion to himself.

"Yes I'm sure!" Toph snorted like an angry bull. Imagine that meat-head thinking she couldn't make a decision!

She was feeling very irritable again. Surely the very idea that Sokka was plotting something was unfounded. Why would he be scheming anything at all? And why did she feel that she was the target? They were all on the same side, it just didn't make sense! No, she was being paranoid. But was she? What if she wasn't being paranoid? What if she was really on to something? What if that something was so bad it would break them all up? No, no, that was ridiculous, but then again…

"You won't be all alone, Haru doesn't want to go watch the firebending either," Sokka mentioned, not entirely sure whether she was listening or not.

"Whatever," She gave him her empty bowl and turned to put her feet in the shallow water.

The water, cool and soothing, touched her slowly healing feet and chilled them. She refused to let anyone know how much it helped, so she kept any sighs of relief to herself until she was alone. What was so fascinating about going to Aang's firebending lesson? Nothing, that's what. Never mind that she couldn't see – though she could feel the heat and sense the movements – no one made such a fuss when she was teaching the young avatar to earthbend. It irritated her that everyone was suddenly going out of their way to accept Zuko, when it was she that had first trusted him. The rapid thoughts took almost all of her attention. She hardly noticed Sokka walking away and Appa taking flight.

Her head started spinning. Not so much a headache, more a ball of energy whizzing around inside her skull; distracting her and throwing her off balance. She could feel her body swaying side to side at first, but soon it changed to a full circular motion. Her body appeared to be moving in time with the energy ball in her mind. She fell back and hit the floor. She felt no pain. Her arms rose up and stroked the air, waving gently. What was in that rice? This had never happened to her before. She pondered for a moment, and then decided that she really didn't care. It was quite nice really, to feel so loose and free within herself. Her ears picked up the sound of footsteps and a male voice spoke out.

"Are you okay?" Haru looked down at the little earthbender curiously.

There was something very wrong with this picture. Barely half an hour ago she was grumpy and her short fuse had burned out, now she lay on the ground of the temple with her arms in the air and her legs resting on the fountain's border, a large (and frankly creepy) smile adorning her face. She raised the floor to help herself move from her sitting position to a standing one. He could see that she was walking oddly, as if she were sleepwalking and no control of her legs.

"Toph?" He went to touch her forehead; if she had a fever it would explain her weird behaviour.

She slapped his hand away and earthbent a small pillar to stand on so that she was level with him. She reached out her hands, poking his face with her fingers and using them to study his facial characteristics. Unsure where the urge came from, but not particularly concerned, she continued to investigate him. Her milky blind eyes were cast downward. Her eyes were of no use, so she used her hands to piece together what he looked like.

"I really don't think you should be standing up,"

"And I don't think facial hair suits you," she replied.

She jumped down from the mini pillar and rolled into a ball on the floor like a frightened tigerdillo. He stared at her, puzzled. She sniggered quietly. Her body, still curled up, started to move slowly along the tiles. Stunned, Haru tried to pry her from the strange mood she was in by leaning down and poking her. Toph rapidly lunged up, stunning him further, and ran laughing through the temple. He shook himself out of his confusion and worriedly took off after her.

"Toph slow down!" He yelled.

"I'm not slowing down for anything!" She squealed.

"Please," He pleaded.

She completely ignored him and ran madly up a small flight of stairs, also ignoring the stinging in the balls of her feet. She felt like a bird. A small, caged bluebird that had finally escaped her steel prison and was now learning to fly. The freedom of running again, regardless of how much it hurt, filled her with a dizzying happiness. Once at the top of the stairs, she sensed that she might be out of places to run to, but since it was still difficult to believe her scarred 'eyes', she challenged what her feet had told her by placing her hands on the floor. As it happened, her feet were right, but she wasn't discouraged; still on all fours, she threw herself over the veranda with enviable speed.

Haru, who was only half way up the stairs, saw Toph imitating a Momo-style launch off of a very high up balcony and sprung into action. He climbed onto the banister and thrust his arms forward, forcing a long platform out from the wall, directly in Toph's path of descent. He ran out onto the platform and held his arms out to catch her, and she landed dead on target. She laughed loudly as the impact of catching her made him fall backwards.

"That was fun!" She giggled, getting up and running out of the room.

"For heavens sake," He muttered tiredly to himself. "I hope that firebending lesson ends soon…"

_Some time later…_

Appa landed back at the temple and Sokka was the first to dismount the giant sky bison. He helped his sister down and decided to go see if Toph was okay. What's the worse that could've happened? He secretly dreaded finding out, especially as the memory of his own encounter with the hallucinagenic fluid flooded to the front of his mind. He didn't get three yards away from the others when she appeared, tearing around the corner on her hands and feet and then diving into the fountain. She rolled around laughing in the water, receiving a lot of confused looks from all but Sokka, who had covered his eyes with his hand and peeked between his fingers.

"What got into her?" Zuko asked.

"Maybe we should have pudding rice more often," Katara beamed with pride, believing that it was her plan that had brought Toph out of her moodiness.

"Uh, yeah," Sokka agreed nervously.

"Toph!" Haru cried out.

As soon as she heard his voice, she dove out of the pool of water and carried on bounding about on all fours. She wasn't the type to give in and get caught. Making him play tag was fun. Much time had passed since she'd had a decent game of tag; earthbending was usually a lot more interesting, but today was different – she wanted to play. Not to mention that using her hands to support her painfully scorched feet while playing gave her more propulsion as well as extra speed. Haru put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, watching Toph disappear into another part of the temple.

"How… can she… be… so fast?" He panted.

"How long has she been like this?"

"Since you all left," He stood up straight and cleared his throat. "She was alright at first but then she just lost it. What the hell did you give her Sokka?"

All eyes turned to the now sheepish Water tribe warrior.

"Yeah, _Sokka_," Katara growled "What _did_ you give her?"

"Nothing really..."

"Must've been pretty strong to make her go crazy like that." Aang commented.

He was right. There weren't a great deal of things in this world that could make Toph, the world's greatest earthbender, so completely hyper and out of control. Aside from a strong fever or maybe a snake bite or some kind of allergic reaction. Katara's eyes widened. The only time she'd seen anyone go that mad was when they were all stuck in the desert and Sokka had been drinking some weird milk from a cactus…

"Oh Sokka, tell me you didn't…"

"Didn't what?" He warily grinned.

"Don't give me that! You put cactus juice in Toph's food didn't you?!" She yelled.

She didn't need an answer, the guilty look on his face said it all…

--

**My first Tokka fic, and it got so long I had to put it into two parts. The other half will be up soon **

**Don't ask where he got the cactus juice from, maybe he bought it while he was in town getting a messenger hawk in 'The Runaway'. Maybe he saved some for later in 'The Desert'. Either way, he had some and used it to spike Toph's breakfast lol.**

**I'd rather not have criticism, but since it's my first Avatar fanfic I'd like to know what you all think. Constructive criticism only please, comments like "Dis fic sux major! You shuld just qwuit now!" really don't help. **

**Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

"You idiot!" Katara screamed. "What on earth were you thinking?"

"Ok, so maybe there could've been a better way to cheer her up, but come on, everyone makes mistakes!" Sokka argued, pointing at his sister accusingly. "Besides, it's _your _fault she was upset in the first place, why did you wake her up so early?"

"Don't you dare try to blame me for this! You're the one who spiked her food with funky plant milk!"

"Well, you saw what it did to me! I was crazy happy on the stuff; I figured it would do that to her and make her bad mood go away," He bantered back.

"Hello? Anyone there?" She taunted, tapping on his head with her fist. "There was no way of telling how cactus juice would affect her! She could've gotten seriously ill!"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here," Zuko interrupted. "Cactus juice is that nasty stuff that you get in desert cacti, right?"

"Yes," She replied, still glaring at her brother.

"Fire nation generals sometimes give it to the prisoners for a cheap laugh," He stated very matter-of-factly.

Katara took a deep breath.

"Haru," she calmly said. "You've obviously had a hard time today, so just chill here with the rest of us while Sokka sorts out this mess."

"It's okay, to be honest it was kind of fun,"

She smiled before turning angrily towards her brother.

"Don't just stand there, go find Toph!" She shouted.

There was no need to be told twice. Sokka knew better than to get into a heated argument with his sister, she always won and made him look a total fool. The plan seemed perfect, he hadn't told anyone, not even Haru who was there when he did it. He just said that it was a sweet flavouring that Toph had always liked. It wasn't strictly true, although judging by the way her body reacted she certainly seemed to be enjoying herself.

And yet, as happy as she seemed, the guilt of deceiving her into being that happy crawled under his skin. Katara was right, she might have become ill, and then what? He pushed the sickly feeling away for the moment and tried to figure out where she went, but with so many places to hide he had his work cut out for him. The inside of temple was a maze of ancient structure and recent earthbending; pillars and posts and rocks protruding arbitrarily from the walls.

"Tag!" Toph bellowed, landing on his back and sending him crashing to the ground. She sniffed the air for a moment. "You're not Haru."

"No, it's me-"

"I know it's you Sokka," She grinned. "You smell of meat and guilt."

"How can someone smell like guilt?"

"I'll tell you if you can catch me."

She quickly scurried away, while Sokka got up and tried to follow her. She was certainly a lot more energetic than usual, a lot more playful too. When _was_ the last time he saw her so full of energy and in such playful spirits? Perhaps when they'd been in Ba Sing Se and she was so sick of being 'handled' (as she'd so blatantly put it) by their overbearing guide Ju Dee that she knocked down the west wall of their temporary home. Or when she discovered a talent for scamming people and ended up on the Fire nation wanted list. Toph had a good sense of humour and was very quick witted, although she often preferred to be nonchalant about everything. But she also had a temper, a short temper with an even shorter fuse.

"Don't feel bad," Her voice echoed. "Haru couldn't catch me either."

"I'm faster than Haru…" He answered, looking around and trying to figure out where she might be. "…and I know you a lot better than he does."

It was true, he knew Toph better than anyone, and if Haru knew her at all then he'd know that just chasing her wouldn't work. Sokka realised that to catch Toph, he had to think like Toph. Well, as Toph-like as he could considering that she wasn't exactly herself today. Regardless of her current state, one thing remained constant; she relied on her other senses to move around. So to get a better shot at catching her, he closed his eyes, stood dead still and listened.

He was greeted with total silence. The silence continued for a few minutes, before he heard something – or someone – shuffling some distance to his left. Slowly, he turned to where the noise came from. A small piece of rubble shot out of the darkness and connected with his ankle. _That wasn't very clever was it? You just gave away your position... _He grinned. The instant he turned toward the dark corner, Toph lunged out from the opposite direction, head-butted his right leg and sent him tumbling to the ground.

"Nice try," She smirked and once again ran up the stairs.

He rubbed his sore hip and glanced up at the cheeky blind girl, grinning like a rabid polar wolf. She was totally messing with him, trying to wear him out the way she had with Haru; he clocked onto her little game and decided to play a game of his own. He made a feeble attempt to stand up, and fell back down again; holding his ankle tightly as if he'd sprained it. Toph, who felt the vibrations when Sokka had fallen over and wondered why, sneaked down the stairs and approached him – slowly at first – crawling as she had when she used to hang out with the badgermoles.

"Sokka?" She whispered, nudging him with her elbow.

He didn't answer.

"You okay?" She asked a little louder, this time pushing at his shoulder with her head.

"Gotcha!" He howled, grabbing her before she could get away.

"No fair!" She squeaked as he started to tickle her.

Sokka watched her squirm and laugh at his tickling, and a broad smile stretched across his face. She was very cute from this angle. And the way she gave Haru the run around was pretty funny. He never stood a chance, not when he had no idea of who she really was and how she got things done. It was good to hear her giggling, especially after how snarly she had been this morning. He always preferred the fiery, headstrong and blasé yet happy behaviour that was the norm in her personality. It went without saying though, that he wouldn't be slipping her any more cactus juice any time soon.

Toph reached her hands up and stroked his face. She followed the shape of his brow with her fingers, tracing the area under his eyes and the subtle curve of his cheeks. She giggled; his cheeks seemed to be getting warmer the longer she touched them, and his strong jaw line quivered slightly. Sokka watched as her marble coloured eyes, unmoving and unseeing, tried desperately to look back at him.

"I wish I could see you properly." She yawned.

Beside the fact that she had been woken up far too early so she was already feeling rather sleep-deprived, the effects of the juice were wearing off. All the running and jumping had taken its toll, now she just wanted to sleep. Plus, it was very warm and comforting being held in Sokka's arms like this. He still smelt of meat, but the guilty scent had gone. She tiredly nuzzled into him and eventually drifted away into a peaceful slumber.

Unwilling to disturb her, he sat with her for a moment; glancing down at her sweet pale face. She still looked different. He couldn't figure out why and it had bugged him all day. Apart from her outlandishness as a result of the cactus juice, she seemed the same. She wore a cute little smile as she slept, strands of hair falling over her closed eyes and... wait, that was it! Her hair! She had left her hair down today! He hadn't noticed before how long her ebony locks actually were; she usually tied it back into the traditional bun.

She stirred, shifting her position and pawing at his shoulder with her hands. He carefully stood up. She stirred again, this time mumbling something into his arm. Looking down at her curiously, he gently stroked her cheek and ever so softly moved her head so that the next time she spoke he'd be able to hear it.

"Say that again," He whispered.

"Mmm…" She stretched and nuzzled his neck. "…yummy Sokka…"

He didn't really know how to react to such a statement, except to feel increasingly uncomfortable and blush several shades of red. Just what did she mean by that? For all he knew it was another cactus-induced slice of weirdness, nothing more. There was little chance she said it of her own choice, and it made him feel rather downhearted, they'd been travelling together for some time and in that time he'd grown more than just attached to her. He tried to put it down to the brotherly instinct he had for Katara switching to Toph, but he knew deep inside there was more to it than just that.

Walking back to where the others were, Sokka felt an unusual pain in his stomach. A pain which he had not felt since Yue had given up her life to save the moon spirit. He still thought about Yue, often during a full moon, when waterbenders like his sister were at their strongest, but hers was a different kind of strength. The kind that makes a person so sincere, so true to themselves and their family. Perhaps that's why she was going ahead with an arranged marriage, or at least she would have, if certain events hadn't happened.

His gut was full of burning sadness; he had been unable to protect her from leaving this world, and it worried him to think that he might not be able to protect Toph either. It wasn't as if she needed protecting, even if she did need someone to hold on to when flying on Appa, she always trusted him alone with the task.

All her life she had been treated like a helpless, fragile little girl because of her blindness, but it was quite obvious she was far from the weak and vulnerable female that everyone – especially her parents – seemed to think. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to her; perhaps because of the indomitable strength she exuded.

Struck by a feeling of uselessness, he sighed; he couldn't bend water, he didn't know martial arts – he relied on his weapons and sense of direction, neither of which were without flaw. He would never know the strength that elemental benders had. Toph shifted again, clearly enjoying a much needed nap. Smiling, he realised that he did know that kind of strength after all; he held in his arms the most powerful earthbender in the world.

"That was fast." Katara said.

"Shh!" He scolded as he cautiously sat between his sister and Haru. "She's asleep."

"I can see that," she remarked, lowering the volume of her voice.

"I guess all that running wore her out," Haru crossed his arms proudly.

"No, she was playing, trying to wear _you _out," Sokka corrected, looking at Toph's peaceful expression. "Didn't you notice why shewas leading youall around the temple?"

"I knew exactly what was going on; she was hyperactive and needed to get all the energy out of her system."

"If you _really_ knew what was happening, then you would have known that to catch her you'd need to play her game and make it work to your advantage," He said in a lecturing tone reminiscent of his sister. "And if you had any idea whatsoever of the way Toph thinks, you'd have known that she wanted to make you tired and that's why she kept running from you."

"Wow Sokka," Katara praised. "That's the most sense you've made in ages."

"Toph isn't a difficult person to understand," He smiled. "I'm sure you and Aang will agree with me on that."

"Actually, I still can't figure out why she does the things that she does," Aang confessed.

"I know she acts out because of how strict her parents are, but honestly, I don't know much beyond that."

"So how do _you_ know so much, Sokka?" Haru questioned, a hint of a grin played on his lips.

"Not sure…" He nervously answered. "Maybe she feels more open with me or something."

As if on cue, she started moving around in his lap, trying to get comfortable, and eventually settled on her stomach with her arms draped over his knee. She yawned and nuzzled his leg. He put his hand on her back, subconsciously attempting to keep her from fidgeting again. She shuffled defiantly, growling as she wriggled herself out of his lap and out of her sleep. Lying on the floor, she opened her eyes slowly, while someone lifted her off the cold tiles and into a warmer place. A nice, cosy place that, when she leaned back against it, allowed her to breathe in the soft smell of meat…

"Sokka!" She wailed, falling on the floor again. "Ow, my head!"

"Toph, be careful!"

"I've got a raging headache," she groaned.

"I'm really not surprised after what happened," Katara empathised.

"Why? What happened?"

They all shared bewildered glances.

"You really don't remember?"

"No, I don't," Toph growled. "Isn't someone going to tell me?"

One by one, all but Sokka got up and left, making their mumbled and half-baked excuses to depart from the awkward tension that had quickly built up in the few moments that Toph had been awake. Katara and Aang went in one direction, Zuko and Haru went in the other, leaving Sokka all alone to explain to Toph what exactly happened.

"Ok Snoozles, I guess it's up to you," She sat next to the nervous teen, still nursing her head.

"Listen, it's kind of a sensitive subject, are you sure you want to know?"

"If you don't tell me I _will _hurt you. Badly."

"Alright, but you have to promise not to get angry."

"I promise nothing."

He sighed. This wasn't going to end well for either of them. Once she found out what he'd done, she was sure to be furious and inflict such unspeakable pain on him that he might not see - or want to see - tomorrow, or worse; she'd never trust him again. He really didn't think this through properly. He looked back to this morning when he first got the idea to slip her some cactus juice, it never occurred to him what would happen once she recovered from the effects of it; he was overcome with guilt, and he knew that Toph would be able to sense it.

"Remember this morning, when you were really upset and moody?"

"It's the only part of today that I do remember Sokka."

"Well, Katara made dessert for breakfast, but there was something else in yours…"

Toph frowned. She felt how nervous he was, shaking like a leaf in a sharp wind, she could smell the copious amount of guilt seeping from his pores and hear the regret that altered his tone of voice. Her earlier instinct was correct after all - he had plotted something, but she never suspected he'd do anything like this. It had been a sneaky, underhanded thing to do and she couldn't understand why he did it.

"You spiked my food, didn't you?"

He fell silent. He didn't have to say it, she'd figured it out all on her own, whether it was the guilt or the blatant shaking wasn't important. The point was she knew, and now she was going to kill him - she was obviously feeling tricked and hurt, and as he looked at her stern, unmoving face, he knew that he was doomed to a most painful revenge.

But she did nothing.

There were no speedy pillars of earth booting him across the room, no springloaded tiles that would shove him over the edge of the temple, which had strangely been built under a cliff. She just stood up, shook her head and limped away. Her feet were unbelievably sore and every step was agony, but she had to go. Sokka wanted to run after her, beg her forgiveness and apologise until he lost his voice, but she would probably just push him away by moving the ground underneath his feet.

"I'm sorry," he whispered sadly.

--

For the next two days, Toph stayed in her earth tent, never coming out. The pyramid shaped shelter stood as a testament to her complete disbelief of Sokka's betrayal. At least, that was how Sokka perceived it. She ignored his countless attempts to apologise, and any food left by the earth tent went uneaten. He hadn't seen her since she figured out that he put cactus juice in her food, even if it was to try and help her out of a bad mood it was also considered a breach of trust - he might have asked her first if she wanted to try it, she wanted to try it when they were in the desert but Katara thought it wasn't a good idea considering their circumstances.

"You okay?" Katara asked, watching her brother mope.

"I knew she'd be angry, but this is going too far," He said. "I mean, she's walling herself up in there, she's not eating, she hasn't come out in days. I'm trying to make it up to her, but she's just so angry."

"Maybe it's time we intervened," She patted his shoulder. "I'll get Haru."

He looked at the four earthen walls that separated him from Toph. He couldn't see why she hadn't cooled off yet, surely two days was enough. Apparently not, if he was reduced to using another earthbender to forcibly remove her from her hiding place. This was all his fault, it was up to him to fix it. When his sister came back with Haru, he would tell her that he could handle the situation himself, and that Haru's skills were not needed.

"I couldn't find Haru, so I brought Aang instead," She smiled.

"It's okay, I can get her to come out," He insisted, tapping on the north wall.

But something wasn't right, the tent sounded unusually hollow. Toph was small, but not so small that her earth lodge sounded empty when someone knocked on it. He really did need an earthbenders help. Aang took a wide stance, breathed in deep and stomped his right foot down hard. The miniature stronghold fell like a tree that had been struck by lightning.

"She's gone!"

--

**Toph's gone missing! Will he find her? Or has she gone for good?**

**You'll have to wait for chapter 3 to find out, sorry! I know I said it would be a two shot, but it's become a three-shot since the first chapter.**

**I don't want the chapters to be too long, so once I reach about 3000 words I stop and move anything after the 3100 point into a new chappy. Hopefully it wont happen again, I wanna wrap this up and finish Tonsillitis **

**Also, thanks to Tokka Fun, arizony, and leadtaco for reviewing.**

**Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sokka started to panic. Goodness knows how long she'd been gone, or even where she'd gone to. And there was no way she could've left without him noticing; he'd sat near that earth tent the whole time she'd been hiding in it. All manner of terrible thoughts ran through his mind. Sure they were safe in the temple, but seriously, even Aang didn't know about the wilds of the forest outside, and okay, so maybe she wasn't helpless, but her feet weren't properly healed, even if she could fight back she'd be at a major disadvantage. How the hell was he going to find her? Suddenly, he was struck by a brilliant idea. He grabbed Aang by his shoulders and shook him.

"I need to borrow Appa! Where is he?"

"He's out flying with-"

"Well get him back here now!" Sokka urged.

Aang took out the bison whistle hidden in his shirt, inhaled a deep breath and blew on it as hard as he could. The following silence was soon disturbed by Appa's bellowing roar, getting louder as he descended. He landed fast and hard, a trail of cracked tiles behind him and a disoriented Zuko clinging to the reins for dear life. Aang nuzzled the furry beast affectionately while Sokka wasted no time in climbing up and pushing Zuko into the saddle.

"Sokka, don't be so rash, she'll come back when she's ready," Katara reasoned.

"And what if she doesn't?" He quipped, taking the reins and flicking them forward. "Yip, yip!"

Appa, as quickly as he had landed, promptly took off. The sudden launch shook Zuko from his half conscious state and he scrambled to grab the edge of the saddle. Confused, the firebender started yelling again, until Sokka popped him round the head with his boomerang. He had enough to worry about without this supposedly fearless fire nation warrior – who clearly was not used to flying via bison – shrieking in his ear.

"Ow!" He grumbled, hands checking that the metal hadn't broken the skin on his face. "That was a really mature reaction, huh?"

"Stop being such a baby!" Sokka scolded.

He tugged lightly on the reins, encouraging Appa to slow down so he had better chance of spotting the wandering earthbender. Zuko stared at the water tribe teenager curiously. He certainly had grown a spine quickly; there was a time when this non-bender would have thought twice before being so snappy with the once exiled prince.

"What are you doing anyway?" He asked.

"Looking for Toph," was the reply, blue eyes still on the ground below.

All went quiet for a moment.

Zuko pondered the notion of Sokka going all overprotective for a girl who didn't need protecting. And yet, he knew what it felt like to be so defensive around someone so proficient in defending themselves. Toph reminded him, in many ways, of Mai. They were both so headstrong and were perfectly capable of knowing their own limits.

He understood the helplessness that plagued his system whenever he was around Mai. The way his insides burned with rage when he caught other guys making a move on her, and how much he wanted to spontaneously combust any male that so much as looked at her; but that was different. He and Mai were a couple, those feelings were part and parcel of being a united pair. Sokka and Toph – as far as he knew – weren't that involved. Zuko had no idea how long exactly Toph had been in the Avatar's little posse, perhaps long enough for them all to become attached to her emotionally, but for she and this non-bender to be anything more than friends seemed a bit farfetched.

"Why are you looking for her?" He rolled onto his back and glanced at the clouds.

"She ran away, I'm not sure when exactly,"

Puzzled, Zuko rolled onto his side and pulled a strange face.

"So? It's not like she won't come back,"

"You didn't see the look on her face," He sighed. "Even if I find her I'll be lucky if she ever trusts me again."

Trust. Girls could be funny about that subject. Mai got very snippy with him while they were at the beach. They went with his sister and Ty Lee, who were both classed as single-and-looking. She seemed to think that his reaction to her being approached by other guys was a sign of mistrust. It wasn't her that he didn't trust – it was those punks who dared try their luck with his girlfriend. She wasn't too flattered at his use of the word 'mine' either, as if he treated her like an object: something that he owned. That wasn't true at all; he just wanted her to see that he spoke of their relationship seriously and sincerely. And it was difficult to watch so many testosterone fuelled people trying to sever said relationship.

"Oh come on, it's not like you meant for any of that stuff to happen!"

"How would you like it if someone who is supposed to care about you messed with your food?" He growled.

"My sister did once, when we were kids," His stomach churned madly as he recalled the awful purging session that followed.

"That's because you and your sister hate each other," Sokka remarked, not entirely surprised that Azula would stoop to doing such a horrid thing to her only brother. "Me and Toph had a great friendship before all this."

"My point is, you didn't spike her food out of spite, and you _were_ trying to make her feel better."

Yeah, and all he ended up doing was making her worse. Her body enjoyed the mental freedom that cactus juice gave, but once the effect wore off, all that she felt was anger. Anger and disappointment that he thought so little of her as to go behind her back - no wonder she was so furious that she daren't even speak to him, and had now vanished without a trace.

He squeezed the reins tightly in his hands, resisting the urge to make himself feel even guiltier than he already did. The sheer look of sadness and disbelief that he saw on her face was enough to reduce him to tears. He failed. He failed her as a friend, as a team mate, but more so as someone she seemed to regard with a certain fondness.

"Look at the bright side," Zuko interrupted his thought coma, "She shouldn't be too hard to find."

"How do you know?" He grumbled.

Zuko said nothing, he just pointed in the direction of a dust cloud, rapidly forming among the trees to their left. Sokka yanked the reins harshly and shouted instructions to the sky bison. Eyes wide, Zuko realised he'd just made a big mistake. Appa once again started a steep and speedy descent. They landed within moments, and by the time the bison touched down, the nauseated firebender was starting to regret ever going near the big furry beast.

"Remind me never to ride this thing while _you're _the one steering it…" He groaned.

Sokka rolled his eyes. Some warrior he was, getting travel sick so easily.

"Stay here," He ordered.

Gazing at the thick, looming dust cloud, it dawned on him that – even if he found her – what would he say? What would she do? The dreaded feeling of guilt and uncertainty that consumed him when she found out about the spiking of her rice, swiftly returned. She might just earthbend him away as she'd done a few times in the past. She might do something much more violent; much more painful. Finally, he realised nothing could possibly be worse than that disappointed look on her face and how it punctured him in the chest like a dagger.

He stepped into the mass of soil powder and blindly fumbled through the layers of drifting sand. It was just like being in the desert again, except with solid ground that would be much easier to navigate. Eyes closed, he walked slowly, listening to all the little noises around him. The rumbling of the dust cloud, claws scratching at the dirt, low growling directly ahead… He cautiously carried on walking and bumped into something… a large something that didn't seem happy that he was there.

Though he could barely see it, he could certainly hear it snarling angrily. The creature reared up and loudly bellowed. It stomped its large foot and cleared the dust surrounding them. Sokka realised then that he was face to face with a rhinobear; an easily angered one judging by the sheer look of annoyance in its eyes. With long black fur and two razor sharp horns on its muzzle, the enraged animal stood at twice Sokka's height.

He stared straight into the furious brown eyes above him. If he could keep the rhinobear caught in a deadlocked stare long enough, he might be able to formulate a plan to escape it. Steadily and never breaking the stalemate, the sly teenager knelt down and felt the ground with his hands for anything that he could use as a makeshift weapon. When his fingers came upon a sharp rock, he gripped it tightly and slashed the beast in the leg. An ominous and pained roar echoed out, and the rhinobear retaliated with a swipe of its giant paws.

Sokka fell backwards, and just as the aggravated creature prepared to stomp the defiant boy…

"Fluffy! That's enough!"

The rhinobear stopped. It snorted obnoxiously at the human on the ground and turned away, limping in the opposite direction. Looking up, Sokka watched the once infuriated beast drop to all fours and brush past someone familiar.

"Toph?"

She didn't acknowledge him. She just walked behind the rhinobear that appeared to have been named. He jumped up and followed her.

"Toph, please listen to me," He pleaded. "I came to find you. You didn't have to run away."

Still, she ignored him.

"Please, Toph, what can I do to get you to come back with me? I'm so sorry, I'll do anything to-"

"Why?" she demanded. "Why did you do it?"

"I'm sorry, I really am… I just thought… that it would make you feel better…"

"Well congratulations, you made me feel worse!" Infuriated, she knocked him to the floor. "What were you thinking when you did it?"

He didn't answer.

"You weren't thinking at all were you?" She huffed indignantly and started to walk away. "There's a surprise!"

"Toph, wait, you don't understand!" He grabbed her arm.

"Let go!"

"Not until you listen to me!"

Sensing its friend in danger, the rhinobear let out a loud, angry roar.

"Fluffy, I can handle this," she assured, her tone of voice turning vicious as she addressed the boy. "I'm warning you, my feet may not be totally healed but I can still earthbend…"

"You can threaten me all you want; I'm not letting you go until you've heard what I've got to say!" Sokka pulled her down and held her shoulders tightly. "Do you have any idea what it's like, to see someone that you care about so angry and frustrated and unhappy?"

Toph felt her face getting warmer. This was certainly unexpected, not unwelcome, just very much unexpected.

"I know what I did was stupid but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded "I wasn't thinking of the consequences, all that mattered was that you were back to feeling like yourself."

She had long since recognised that Sokka wasn't trying to hurt or poison her, but that didn't stop her feeling angry and humiliated. During the two days she'd been away from him, the memories of what happened while she was under the influence of the cactus juice slowly pieced themselves together. The silly things she did, the stupid things she said, all of it constantly replayed in her mind. All the running and jumping impaired her healing feet, so the time she spent away from the temple had given her a chance to recuperate.

An awkward silence followed.

Toph felt something nudging her arm. Sokka was startled as 'Fluffy' leaned its head on her shoulder and glared right at him. The rhinobear snorted in distaste while jabbing Sokka roughly with its front paw.

"It's okay, Fluffy," She reached her hand up and scratched behind the beasts ear. Fluffy softly growled with appreciation, its back leg twitching happily.

"So…," He began. "You actually _named_ a wild rhinobear?"

"I only gave it a name because we've bonded over the past couple days," She grinned widely. "Rhinobears have a tough reputation, but they're really affectionate if you show no fear."

Fluffy nuzzled her and she couldn't help chuckling when the black fur tickled her cheek. It wasn't long though before she remembered why Sokka was here. Her smile soon faltered and, noticing he was still fairly close, pushed him an arms length away.

"You know, what you did was really sneaky."

"Please, just tell me why you ran away,"

"At first, I was really angry, I had to get away from you," She confessed and paused for a moment. "I just couldn't believe that you did what you did, and you made a total fool out of me."

He hung his head and avoided looking directly at her. The shame and guilt still scorched him inside, and it would for some time, even if she forgave him. Fluffy had curled around Toph protectively, laying its head on its paws and staring at the teenager opposite them with caution.

"I waited until you all were asleep, snuck out of the temple and left my earth tent there to make it look like I was still there too," She stopped. "I would've come back on my own… eventually…"

"Would you?" He asked "What if I hadn't come out here? What if you thought no one cared enough to come and find you? Would you really come back if you thought that you didn't mean anything to us?"

"Stop being so dramatic," She told him matter-of-factly. "It doesn't suit you."

"I can't help it, I was so worried when I found out you were gone!" He rose up and threw his hands in the air. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again and it hurt like crazy because…"

The sudden pause in his words piqued her interest.

"Well…?"

Sokka's words stuck in his throat. As he watched Toph fussing the rhinobear, he desperately searched for something to say. And what exactly was he trying to say? He wasn't sure how to put it. That he would miss her? That he could never imagine a life without her? That his world made so much more sense when she was in it? She would dismiss such things without a second thought, and declare that he was just being 'dramatic'.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…" He sighed.

"Try me."

"It's not that easy," He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm a guy, and guys aren't good at this stuff…"

"What kind of stuff?" She queried.

She could hear him pacing uncomfortably, trying (and failing) to explain himself. It took a lot to keep her from sniggering at his discomfort. Perhaps she was being cruel, letting him get all wound up when really she had long since forgiven him. She figured he would come looking for her. Sokka was the kind of person to get tangled in certain emotions and she wanted him to dwell on what he did to her, the way she had to dwell on her ridiculous behaviour once her memories flooded back.

"… I like you, and I don't ever want to lose you…"

Okay, _that _she definitely heard. Her back straightened and her cheeks warmed. He couldn't be serious, could he? Was this all a trick, to get her to go back to the temple with the minimum of fuss? She wasn't having any of it.

"Stop!" She demanded. "I know why you're saying all this! You just want me to just roll over and go back to the others! Well I'm not falling for it; I'll return when I'm good and ready!"

"You are so stubborn!" Sokka fumed, startling her. He had never spoken to her like that before. "I came all this way to find you, to apologise for being such a moron and you throw it in my face! Don't you get it? I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're so blind!"

"WHAT?" Toph screeched.

Fluffy stood up and stared at the loud-mouthed teen threateningly. Undeterred by the beasts' fierce stance and low growl, Sokka continued.

"Why can't you tell that I _mean_ what I'm saying? You knew Zuko was being sincere when he apologised, is it so hard to sense that I'm being sincere too?" He yelled, venting his frustration. "Is it really that hard to believe that I like you? That I would follow you anywhere, just to be near you? For Spirit's sake, Toph, I'm trying to tell you that… I…"

He heaved a sigh and dropped his shoulders in defeat. She too had calmed, although now ever more curious as to what he was going to say before he stopped.

"Well?" She probed, urging him to finish his sentence. The rhinobear, sensing the tension dissipate, returned to its seated position at her side.

"I need you, Toph, and if it means that I have to chase you to the Earth Kingdom and back, then that's what I'll do." He slowly approached her and took her hand in his. "Please forgive me for what I did."

For a moment, everything went silent. All she could hear was her heart thumping madly inside her. He _was _being sincere, he _was _telling the truth. She could sense it, she really could; he meant every word of what he'd said. They were best friends after all, was it really so far fetched that he might have developed feelings for her in all their hanging out together?

Whenever they travelled in the sky or on the sea – places where she couldn't use her earthbending at all, let alone use it to see – she always clung to him. He had never once pushed her away. She on the other hand, tended to push him away at will, whenever it suited her. Maybe it was time that stopped. Toph gently pried her hand free and wrapped her arms around him. The hug caught Sokka by surprise. After a moment, however, he hugged her back.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" He whispered.

"Of course," Toph giggled. "I don't hug just anyone you know."

Fluffy, a touch jealous that it had been left out, nuzzled Toph in the side and gave a small whimper. She let go of Sokka and began fussing her furry companion.

"I'm sorry, you can't come with us," she continued stroking the animal's fur and scratching behind its ears. "But you were great company and we'll meet again, you'll see."

A happy growl was followed by the creature trying to lick Toph to death. She laughed at the rough, soggy tongue tickling her face, and carefully pushed the slobbery beast away long enough for her to breathe. She then clutched to Fluffys neck and nuzzled it.

"I'm gonna miss you,"

One last lick from the affectionate fur-ball and it began to walk away. Toph couldn't help but feel sad on hearing her temporary pet leave. That rhinobear had been her friend and protector while she was out in the wild, it had listened to – or at least tolerated – her pointless ranting that first night she spent with it. Maybe she would see it again, maybe she wouldn't, but she knew she'd never forget it.

Once again, she felt herself being scooped up by the same person who started this whole incident.

"Sokka, my feet are much better now," she grinned. "Put me down!"

He took hold of her left ankle, looked at the ball of her foot and nodded.

"Maybe, but I want to carry you, at least until we get back to Appa, just in case."

Toph nuzzled into Sokka's arms and sighed. She could get used to this…

**THE END**

**Okay, so, maybe it wasn't the cute, fuzzy epic fluff ending you expected, but this fic was started damn near two and a half years ago and my writing style (as well as myself) has changed a lot since then.**

**In any case, I hope you like it! **

**x**


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